The Right
by Mia Jones
Summary: Misao runs away from the Aoiya to find Aoshi, but when he finds her first he exerts his right over her.
1. Chapter 1

"This isn't like you," Aoshi growled; his voice kept barely in check. His hands gripped his knees intermittently, tensing and releasing. He stared hard at the smooth tatami mats he knelt upon, struggling not to look at her. An oil lantern burned softly and lit the room in a soft glow of paper walls against the night. She knelt near the open window, beside the painted screen.

"I had to leave," she whispered. Her russet obi fluttered in the breeze that crept through the room. For the first time since they returned to their host's home, Aoshi glanced at the young woman. She looked stunning in the kimono that he knew once belonged to her mother years ago. He remembered the distinct pattern of watery silk along the hem line.

"You belong at the Aoiya, Misao. It is your duty to our clan and to me." Her eyes swung up at him.

"You've been gone for almost a year. I had to find you, you don't understand what was happening," she cried harshly. "You're not even our proper leader anymore," she spat. Aoshi sat stunned for a moment before he rose smoothly onto feet and strode across the bare room to her. She glared defiantly up at him.

His gloved hand clenched and released, clenched and released, but finally relaxed and grazed the soft side of her hair. She sighed and rested her head against his leg, looking down at her little hands.

"I missed you," she said. Aoshi didn't respond for a moment. He left her with a final stroke of her smooth cheek and moved across the room with more hesitation than Misao had ever seen in her leader. He opened a hidden closet and gathered the clumsy bedding into his arms. Misao rose to help him and together they made the bed for the night. Her hands shook as they unfolded they heavy futon blanket.

The day had been chilly, though the night air coming into the room was much colder, but both Aoshi and Misao enjoyed the fresh air. But the day had been a shock. Aoshi had moved through the market purposefully, like a cat on the prowl. The common people who had happened to notice him took him a serious and dangerous man with an intent purpose. But when Misao first saw him over her shoulder, she realized he was nearly unhinged from his erratic motions through the street. Upon seeing him, she knew he had already caught her, but she hid behind Kenshin in a last moment of defense.

"Get away from her, Himura. She's not yours," Aoshi had barked across the square. People quickly cleared the area. He had leaped forward in a few quick strides and had grabbed Misao's arm and swung his kodachi in a cleaving arc at Kenshin, which the small man had to dash out of the way without his usual elegance. In the back of Aoshi's mind, he had noticed Misao's unusual kimono and the simple, but beautiful lacquered comb set in her dark hair. He had dragged her closer into the protection of his chest and shoulders.

"Kenshin isn't the one you should be worried about," Misao whispered as Aoshi's body brushed just behind her in the chill of the bedroom. His hands slowly undid the elaborate knotted bow of her obi. With long, smooth motions he undid each fold and laid it carefully against his arms.

"He has no right to you," Aoshi answered. The lantern sputtered.

"Aoshi, there were men who wanted me back in Kyoto. I've had several marriage proposals," Misao finally blurted. Her narrow shoulders sunk. Aoshi's hands stopped except to crush the silk in his grasp.

"Who were they."

"It doesn't matter, I turned them down, but it wouldn't stop. Why weren't you there?" Aoshi spun her around and she crumpled onto the bed in a mess of silk.

"You had no right to leave the Aoiya, that's the only place I know you're safe."

"I wasn't safe there!"

"You should have waited for me!"

"I had no idea when you would come back! When were you planning on it? Another year?"

Aoshi sunk to the floor and pulled the kimono away from her bare shoulders. "You are part of this clan. You are ninja. I am you leader. You must do as a I say because I am the strongest. I know what's best for you," he stated firmly. All the while many ears listened in to their conversation through the thin paper and wood walls.

"I can't believe they're going to sleep together," Yahiko whispered. "They're not even married."

"He's coming on a little strong," Sano agreed. Aoshi heard these eavesdroppers, but chose to ignore them. He silently pulled the long kimono off Misao's thin frame and hung it on the bamboo rods in the corner. She shivered in the breeze and clung to herself, lost in the folds of the futon. Aoshi shrugged out of his trench coat and divested himself of his clothes. He blew out the lamp and slipped into bed, cradling Misao's smooth back against his broad chest.

"I have every right," he whispered.

"I know you do," she answered, twisting in his arms. She pressed her body and her lips against his own. Aoshi found, as always with his young woman, he was never entirely in control.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Misao softly slid Aoshi's draped arm off her shoulder. Despite her gentle movements, he was awake and watched as she rolled out of bed. Misao knew he was watching her. She knew she would never catch him unaware. Except, of course, leaving the Aoiya had surprised him. Silently, she dressed into her kimono. She left the room, kneeling outside in the hall as she softly slid the door closed on its frame. Aoshi quickly dressed and put away the futon.

"Oh good morning," he heard a voice eagerly tone somewhere in the house.

"Good morning Kaoru, thank you for allowing us to stay here for the night," Misao answered politely.

"Oh not at all, of course, we could have given you a room to yourself if you had wanted it. There is plenty of room."

"Thank you, but the accommodations were fine," Misao stated, her voice just muffled through the thin rice paper walls of the house. Aoshi heard more womanly noises, but he moved to the Dojo to find Kenshin kneeling on the porch.

"Good morning, Aoshi," the swordsman called, waving brightly. Aoshi answered with a cold stare. "Lovely weather we have been having, I do enjoy fall," Kenshin continued, warming his hands around a steaming cup of tea and inhaling the air and exhaling little clouds into the chill. Aoshi knelt beside the man he had attacked, again, only the previous day.

"Aoshi," Kenshin began again, though his tone became much more serious. "What has happened to our little Misao?"

"I don't know what you mean, Himura" Aoshi answered coldly. Kenshin paused before continuing.

"She seems somehow, quieter, more sedate." Silence hung in the courtyard. "And I can't help but notice that you demanded the use of only one room last night."

Aoshi stiffened. "I don't believe that's any business of yours."

"No, perhaps your right, but things seem different," Kenshin replied so coolly that Aoshi was once again tempted to begin a fight. He gripped his kodachi.

"Himura, you don't understand the Oniwanbanshu. It's my right."

"Your right?" Kenshin asked, raising a brow.

Aoshi sighed and waited a few minutes before continuing. "She's my woman; it's what she was brought up to be."

"I thought she was a ninja."

"Of course she is. She has been trained nearly from birth to have all the skills necessary to contribute to the clan. But I'm a man, and the Okashira, and all members of the clan in a sense belong to me."

"Does she mind belonging to you?"

"That's not what has been troubling her, she knows her place," Aoshi growled warningly. He slid one short sword millimeters out of its sheath. Kenshin sighed and placed his cup onto the smooth, wood floor. Aoshi silently notched the sword back to its hilt without looking at the man beside him.

"Misao told me she had gone to find you."

"She needn't have gone looking, I returned to find she had left."

"Where were you, if you don't mind this humble one asking?"

At that moment, a door across the courtyard opened and Misao appeared at the threshold. Aoshi completely forgot about Kenshin and his question. She looked so regal, like an empress. She and Aoshi locked eyes and both knew it was time to leave. None of these people, as good as they were, truly understood their duties to the clan and to each other. He knew she would lay down everything for him. Though she was severely below his rank, he knew he would do the same for her. And that's how it had been since she had been born. They were partners.

"Himura, I don't know why Misao came here. I suspect she feels some sense of comradeship for you and your people, but I've come to take her back home," Aoshi stated firmly. Kenshin shrugged slightly and shook his head.

"No I guess you're right, I don't understand you or Misao," the red headed swordsman sighed. Another door slid open across the courtyard and Kaoru stepped onto the porch to join Misao. The older woman looked softer, bundled in a quilted kimono jacket. The two women laughed together over some small joke, which Aoshi presumed was about himself and Himura. Misao giggled, but her eyes searched across the garden space towards Aoshi.

"We will return to Kyoto today. Thank you for your curtsey, Himura," Aoshi stated, and bowed almost imperceptibly to his host. Kenshin returned the bow formally.


End file.
